Sunday, September 11, 2016

Welcome to blog 'scuse me?'s Bachelor In Paradise Season 3 Recap: Since they let most of this season finale leak and then announced Nick as the bachelor last week, watching and recapping this finale is nearly pointless, but so is this blog. We will continue the tradition of me (Monica) writing in blue and Tara in orangeeven though if you read this on a feed reader you probably won't be able to tell, but who cares.Week 6 (Finale): Good TalkSpeaking of pointless, they introduce one more contestant to paradise, Tiara, the chicken enthusiast. She didn't make it past night one on Ben's season of the bachelor so I'm guessing they assumed her odds would be just as good for BIP and why give her any chance to succeed. Back to the "chicken enthusiast" part, her introduction on the bachelor showed that she had a pet chicken however later in this episode they show her inhaling a plate of chicken wings while they play chicken noises in the background. Clearly, this whole season has had a five year old editing it.

If the producers told me I was getting dumped into paradise for the LAST EPISODE, with everyone and their mother already fully ensconced in their repulsive facsimiles of couplehood, I would go Full Chad and put Evan in a headlock so I could earn a sub-article in Star. Oh, and in case you forgot:

After Nick wrestles the date card out of Tiara's hands, he asks Jen to go on the date with him. Nick and Jen go to a carnival for Tiara's date. At some point right outside of the carnival, they have staged a fortune teller to tell Jen and Nick exactly what the producers want them to hear.

Nick takes it well and we get more conversation about Nick's walls.

Nick appreciates Jen for being the "first person" to challenge him to break down those darn walls. They make out while their beers get warm and Nick learns to be more vulnerable, or something. I find Nick's compliments very hard to believe since Jen has the personality of a mall mannequin, and not the cool kind with painted-on features. I mean the blank head-and-torso mannequins that model ironic newsboy caps.

Rolled up jeans and flip flop mega star, Brett has gotten himself into something of a pickle or the floor lamp equivalent of a pickle. A faulty switch? He realizes that he has a better connection with Lauren than Izzy, who left Vinny to be with him. Izzy's response is to leave paradise and call Vinny.

As Brett is dumping Izzy, she hangs her head in dismay, announces "I should go", and theeeennnn:

Brett gets an A-octuple-plus for his reply when Izzy says she's scramming:

I love that Izzy pretends it suddenly dawned on her she made a "huge mistake" by abandoning Vinny and left Brett and company behind so she could leap back into his arms. The ONLY REASON she wants Vinny is because Brett got her that job back at Dateless Wonders Inc. In the end it doesn't matter because Vinny doesn't want anything to do with Izzy's ass and hangs up so she can ruminate on her uneventful and peaceful ride to the airp-

Wells has some difficult decisions to make on the final rose ceremony night. In his love parallelogram or as Evan puts it "love quadrangle" he's got Ashley (everyone needs a Jared) I., Jami (I'm from Canada and have a Batman tattoo), and Shushanna (mathematician and sounds like Shakira when she talks). Shushanna does not want to compete for a man's attention, which make sense why she only made it to Week 3 on the Bachelor.

I hate to play devil's advocate here (no, I don't), but this is literally what you signed up for... to fight for a guy. I get it though, I would not fight Ashley I. for a man-boy-DJ. Shushanna leaves pre-rose ceremony.

Apparently the ghost of Bernard Herrmann scored the moment Shushanna realizes she's not thrilled with this gig. And I'm 45% certain she will return with her tail between her legs for Season 4.

Rose Ceremony:Guys choo-choo-choose this week.Josh - AmandaNick - JenGrant - LaceEvan - CarlyBrett - has a realization that he's not here for the right reasons and leaves (you guys....LOL)Wells - Ashley I. (because at least he won't have to have sex with her in the fantasy suite and Wells is a gentlemen)Bye Bye to Lauren H., Jami, and Tiara.

The next morning, Carly sings a Monty Python-esque ditty about having anxiety because it's the dreaded Fantasy Suite day. (I can only imagine the amount of saliva ropes this will involve.)

There is an uncomfortable amount of talk about Ashley's virginity which is entirely unnecessary. Except maybe for Jen's comment about sitting on his...bleep? What is it? Cock? Dick? Pointed Sticks? Oh wait, that last one's a Canadian band.

Wells realizes the amount pressure on him to steal Ashley's virginity and decides to get the fuck out of there before that's his legacy in bachelor nation.

I didn't have a great feeling about Wells' time in paradise from early on, because he has a habit of looking into the distance like this:

The emotions playing across Ashley's face when Wells says he needs to go is some of the realest shit I've seen on tv. Jesus, Wells, you can't just go zip-lining or bird-watching with the woman, rank Hanson's albums from best to worst, and go to the Suite to order some of Josh's pizza stash and fall asleep after a few glasses of cabernet? Oh well. Yeah, you heard me - NO MORE PUNS.

So if you're not keeping track, the only couples left are Amanda and Josh, Carly and Evan, Jen and Nick and Lace and Grant. It's time for all of them to go on dates and then a night in the fantasy suite. Grant and Lace walk around Sayulita, trying on hats and taking selfies. Of course, this leads to them getting a couples tattoo that says "Grace" both of their names merged to create at least a real word. At least if it doesn't work, you can tell people you were a really big Will & Grace fan or even Grace Under Fire or someone who has more than just TV references could think of something.

Clearly, Grant and Lace are the only people left in the world who don't know this is the only name combo that makes sense to tattoo on one's body:

Jen and Nick go surfing. I have a good feeling about this couple even though I heard he's going to be the Bachelor. Let's talk about those walls, Nick.

The camera shows us Jen's cellulite-free butt and concave abs as Nick continues to blunder through life with his douche-scruff and dramatically squinting eyes.

Carly and Evan, the weird couple, get some half naked painting date. Wonderful or too much footage of Evan bulge. Too much...

Evan lolls around in underwear that looks like it was given to him by an EMT on one of his 90 trips to the hospital. Carly feels "liberated"; or, to more accurately phrase it, Carly claims she feels liberated. She tells Evan at dinner that he's the type of person she "always wanted to be with". The five-year-old editor Monica mentioned cut the end of Carly's sentence: "...on this season of Bachelor in Paradise so I could stick around until the very end and make the cover of In Touch and finally convince you we need to go on Marriage Boot Camp to make some pocket money with Tamra and Eddie Judge".

Amanda and Josh play soccer with a bunch of kids. Since Amanda couldn't see Josh with her kids, she gets to see him interact with some Mexican kids first.

Josh literally doesn't register as a living being in my mind unless he's making sweet, twisted love to a slice of Mama Celeste.

After the fantasy suite:

Carly and Evan have some post-coital robe time while Evan tries to rap or rhyme uncomfortably.

The ONLY THING I will give Evan credit for here is that he doesn't lapse into Iggy Azalea-style mimicry while spitting his rhymes.

Lace and Grant, more robes, even more uncomfortable. Grant's all like, maybe two weeks isn't enough time to know someone to propose to them. Completely reasonable! Lace is crying either because her fake eyelashes are irritating her eye or this shows intense music cues are affecting her. I'm with you, girl, cue Monica's tears as she falls for this shit.

Jen and Nick drinking mimosas. Nick made a strong choice not to wear the hotel robe. I appreciate that.

Have Jen and Nick ever laughed together? Have they ever held a conversation or simply existed next to each other without showing the viewers this?

Amanda and Josh with plates of fruit on the bed. Josh in a grey t-shirt and black shorts and Amanda in a black nightgown, the only couple to completely disregard the hotel robes. Josh realizes that kids "sleep in" until 8:30am. That's not sleeping in, Amanda, that's waking up early for most people (read: without kids).

Josh begins to pull a Ben and tells the camera he and Amanda are "taking things very fast" and he has to be "mindful of [Amanda's] kids"; that may sound like he wants to make sure he doesn't screw them up emotionally by jumping into the picture before he and Amanda are sure this relationship will work (he certainly wants it to sound that way), but it really means "I have to keep in mind that Amanda has kids, and they get up when I'm usually stumbling into bed with a mouthful of Tree Tavern and a .25 BAC".

Then the proposals happen:

We all know Carly and Evan are getting engaged and if anyone in paradise is actually getting married, it's probably them. I wish all bachelor story lines were similar to this one. "I feel like my heart beats to your soul." Evan, what the fuck, when did you get so soulful?

Eww. Gross, Carly. Stop it!

Carly's face when Evan unleashes his "beats to your soul" line:

And, in loving loverly triumph, Carly and Evan roll into the sunset. Half of Evan's shirt is inexplicably unbuttoned and the nation shakes a Grandpa Simpson fist in protest. Carly can't wait to move into Evan's house so she can "cook dinners", "sit on his patio", and "MEET HIS CHILDREN". Ummm you guys are getting married so I hope that third part isn't a letdown.

Lace and Grant (even though Lace could of had a whirlwind romance with Chad) get engaged.

I'm willing to bet seven thousand dollars that TMZ will run footage of Grant slipping into a plastic surgeon's office to get laser tattoo removal before the year is over.

Jen and Nick... what's happening? Is this perfectly boring couple NOT getting engaged? Nick is the next bachelor, you say? Well, I did not see this coming!

Jen enters in a crop top as the "Chris Harrison Shows' Theme" plays:

Nick "bursts into tears" (he is a worse fake crier than the Olsen twins were in the 90s) and says that "something is tellling [him] to say goodbye" to Jen. Correct - Chris Harrison's offer to become the next Bachelor. Jen takes off in the Rejectmobile and I guess she's crying or whatever; who cares.

Amanda and Josh get engaged and now I'm seriously concerned about her and her children. Good Talk.

When Josh is giving his Big Speech to Amanda and says, "When I walked down those steps on that first day, and I saw you, and I thought..." I genuinely expect him to say "...I wanna hit that".

Josh and Amanda gush to the camera about their engagement and we see that Josh has soaked through yet another dress shirt.

Last but not least, epilogues! Highlight: Nia Peeples aka Caila and Jerkface Poop aka Jared decided to "just be friends".

Well now that this show is over, I'm going to go make out with a pizza.

So many questions are left unanswered. Why did Tara's title for these posts make zero sense? What does Bachelor in Paradise have to do with Christmas? How sweaty is Josh in not Mexico? Is Amanda okay with Josh's "alleged" emotional abuse? Does Evan really have kids or only when they are convenient? Will the fourth season of this show make even less sense? How single is Chris Harrison? Which couple's wedding will ABC actually pay to air? Does anybody have Daniel's phone number? Can me and the Twins be best friends?

Episode Stinger: Jorge gives us love advice, and his 30 seconds of comments reach an entertaining poignancy that Nick hasn't come close to on three different goddamned reality shows.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Welcome to blog 'scuse me?'s Bachelor In Paradise Season 3 Recap: Where is Chris Harrison?We will continue the tradition of me (Monica) writing in blue and Tara in orangeeven though if you read this on a feed reader you probably won't be able to tell, but who cares.Week 5: Wells that didn't last long.The show opens with more Ashley-Jared-Caila drama... UghI don't know if it's obvious yet, but I have a growing disdain for Caila. This does not mean that I excuse the behavior of Ashley or Jared. Caila, however, has no depth and it might be a conscious effort on her part to look "good" on television, just keep smiling and if it gets awkward just smile harder and no one will see how ugly you are on the inside. She's done some not so cool things and everyone seems to be able to look past that since she has great hair and Ashley's a mess. Lest we forget Caila is kind of at fault for this whole mess. If you have a "friend" or acquaintance who is obsessed with a guy to the point that every other word that comes out of her mouth is "Jared" and she specifically asks you not to pursue a relationship with this guy you have never met. Maybe don't go on a date with him and then when you two are all cuddly tell her, well you weren't interested but then you talked to him. You know what that means. That means your promises are shit, Caila!

What I'm trying to say is this whole thing is a mess and everyone is at fault.

Caila tells Ashley that Jared "loves" her: "You're like a sister to him". Ashley's murderous head tilt in reaction to that comment speaks for at least 25 of the world's nations.

Ashley simply has to sit Jared down again and sob until she can barely breathe while Jared is like:

Ashley summons her dead dog, Lucy to help her find a boy that will get her over Jared.

Lucy sends Wells, from JoJo's season and maybe my future boyfriend.

When Wells descends from heaven in his curlicued glory, Daniel declares, "Well, well, Wells!". Can we get Daniel a terrifying Kids in the Hall-esque show on IFC with John Dunsworth and Rick Moranis? Everyone is excited that Wells is finally here. This might be Jared only shot at happiness. Hey Caila, who do you think Wells should take on his date?

Did you know Wells has a lot of dogs on his Instagram? It's true.

Jared & The Gang react with their usual subtlety and grace when Wells asks Ashley on the date:

Highlights of the Wells/Ashley date:They actually eat the food on their plates. Even a stray dog gets some table scraps (Wells' 'dog voice' - wow. Marry me, sir). Ashley's favorite band is Hanson!

While Ashley and Wells have their fun, Caila caresses Jared's arm and gives it this weird, appraising series of squeezes before Jared climbs on her to make a scrunchy-faced, disingenuous child or whatever the fuck they're up to these days. They discuss the possibility of leaving the show soon to recede into romantic splendor aka dunderheaded fakery that is doomed to get torn apart by Ashley and Jared's friendship. Lace and Grant get in a fight when Lace starts talking to Carl and teases Grant about not getting a rose. Grant and Carl are both firefighters that are covered in tattoos, is it possible Lace with a little tequila and her fake eyelashes melting off couldn't tell who she was talking to?

A storm has begun to brew, guys: The "Josh and Nick fight you've all been waiting for". I certainly haven't been waiting for it, because Nick is not Alex from JoJo's season. Nick has no interest in glaring and puffing his chest at a pizza-munching sociopath unraveling under the weight of the HGH. Nick wants to sit on beds with the most boring woman alive and talk about what steps she takes to get ready for bed. I'm one step away from finding Carl more interesting than Nick, and I don't clearly remember what Carl looks like as I type this.

On to Evan and Carly and the most hilarious exchange of dialogue so far this season:

Evan: This is really hard...like, really hard, but..I'm totally falling in love with you.Carly: *struggling not to explode into derisive guffaws* I'M TOTALLY FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU, TOO."

I'm certain Carly was trying to tell him she was totally falling in love with U2 after watching the tide roll in one dark night while looping "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me". Sweet Daniel is desperate for a rose and amazing at playing this game. First, he made bracelets for the twins. Follows that up with a wonderful platter of "American...food" for Haley. Onion rings, chicken fingers, french fries, it's all there.

Knowing Izzy's predilection for men with lamps, he brings her a shinier taller version of Brett's lamp.

I'm deeply concerned that Izzy doesn't know the difference between watts and volts.

Actual quote from Brett: "Who needs a lamp when you've got Izzy's lips?". OKAY. I hate Brett and I just realized he's the second coming of Mason from *batteries not included:

"If a package washes up on the shore, it's my denim capris from Hollister."

Rose Ceremony:Ladies give out the roses and Chris Harrison makes his only appearance this week.

Emily and Haley take Amanda aside and in between sobbing warn her about the scary side of Josh. After they leave, all hell breaks loose. The twins are geniuses! What an amazing time to provoke drama! As you are leaving the country! Peace out, bitches!

Josh when he sees the Twins leading Amanda away to "talk":

What they left in paradise? A shouting match between Josh and Nick. Josh mentioning his dog's cancer as evidence that Andi's tell-all book is full of lies and he's here for the right reasons. I may have misunderstood him it's hard to read between the cliches. Amanda sticks by Josh's side even though she's been in bad relationships before she thinks she's a good judge of character. The eternal optimist.

Josh addresses the crowd and lets everyone know he's "really frustrated right now" and he's got a "genuine relationship with [Amanda] right now". Nick chimes in that he's having some doubts concerning this alleged "genuine" spirit and Josh lets it roll off his back:

Josh thinks Nick wants to sabotage his and Amanda's bliss because he's jealous. Amanda lingers on the sidelines and cries and Caila sits next to her, contributing the usual black chasm of zilch. Evan stands between Josh and Nick as they argue, begging to get another shirt ripped. Caila walks by a sidebar conversation between Lace, Grant, Wells, and Ashley. As Caila walks away, Lace says, "I can't stand her." This is the first time they have let something negative about Caila be said by someone who isn't Ashley. What else are they leaving out? This is not isolated. No one seemed shocked by Lace's comment. Next morning, when Wells is the only person awake and Jami from Ben's season shows up, she's asks him on a date before Ashley wakes up. Everyone assumes Ashley is going to get hysterical when she finds out, but what they don't seem to recognize is that Wells is not Jared so she doesn't give a shit.

I forget Jami exist as I watch her onscreen. So....dull. It shatters my heart to acknowledge that Jami and Jen are wandering around in the same paradise-iverse. Caila and Ashley have another stupid conversation. Caila asks if Ashley would ever trust her. Seriously? You promised her off-screen that you had no interest in Jared and then you changed your mind and you expect to be friends with Ashley. Maybe this is weird editing, but I don't understand this stupid conversation. Ashley, just say no! So Caila, after creating this mess, starts to realize the only way to save face is to bounce. GTFO Caila!

Yo...is that welt on Caila's butt really from Jared smacking her? NOT COOL. Jared is incredibly overdue to take a giant piece of driftwood on the chin-wisps. She goes to Jared, tells him she's leaving and he's like I need to go talk to Ashley about this. Really Jared, you need check with Ashley first. This makes me think Ashley isn't completely fabricating her relationship with Jared. Ashley has a celebratory taco before Jared slowly chases after Caila's car without packing.

Did Jared leave his stuff in paradise? Will Caila finally tell him to shave his stupid face?

Un-exaggerated quote from Ashley: "Everyone here loves Jared because he is the most wonderful person we've all ever met".

Ashley sobs herself into a coma as she tells Carly and Evan that she "just lost one of her best friends". Carly replies, "It's all gonna work out. Everything works out the way it's supposed to, Ashley". Things Carly needs to get reminded about:- Police brutality- 9/11

Wells romps back from his magical Batman date with Jami and feels the need to have a conversation with Ashley because he's attracted to Jami and is well aware of Ashley's "emotional fragility". I'm starting to miss Josh.

Izzy, about Brett: "I look at him and think he's just this perfect guy". Izzy always has this face on like she's about to sneeze or gag and I hate her. She wouldn't know perfection if it bashed her in the pineapples.

Boring-ass Shoshanna traipses into paradise and yoinks Wells. She comes on clownishly strong after knowing him for two minutes ("You'll protect me [from the crabs]. I'll take you to the shower with me"). Meanwhile, Lauren steals Brett for a double date with Shoshanna and Wells; Izzy's worry and sadness in light of this make her nauseated. NOW we're in business! Izzy's pain is my gain. The foursome go surfing and Brett comments on the smokin' hot women who've accompanied him: "Today I brought my beeches to the beaches!". OH MY GOD BRETT I FUCKING DESPISE YOUR ASS.Lauren is flat-eyed and has a habit of twisting her mouth when she talks; this combo makes her look like she's trying to maintain composure while watching a dying bull shark thrash through the sand.

Amanda wears a tank top that says "Hot Sauce" and Josh continues to sweat profusely as Amanda dreams of getting engaged to him.

Josh takes Amanda on a date and tells her she's his best friend and that he's falling in love with her. Cut to spectacular fireworks and Josh apparently not sweating through his shirt for the first time this season.

Grant and Brett do this when Brett comes back from the double date and it's sublime:

We're getting SO DAMN CLOSE to the rip-roaring two-night finale! Proposals galore! Shoshanna-sobbing! Nick's fortieth engagement ring purchase in five years! This will be like infinity Christmases crashing into each other in my living room.